ASA Adjudication on TalkTalk Telecom Ltd
TalkTalk Telecom Ltd t/a
TalkTalk
11 Evesham Street
London
W11 4AR
Date:
4 January 2012
Media:
Television, Poster, National press
Sector:
Computers and telecommunications
Number of complaints:
3
Complaint Ref:
A11-171367
Ad
a. A TV ad for broadband, viewed on 12 September, featured a toy family in a dolls house, guarded by a row of toy soldiers. The voice-over said, "Talk Talk homes have the UK's safest broadband thanks to HomeSafe, free for all customers. No wonder thousands of homes join Talk Talk every day. Talk Talk, a brighter home for everyone."
b. A poster for broadband, viewed on 19 September, stated "The UK's safest broadband is now £3.25 a month" and "Includes HomeSafe, the UK's first and only network level security".
c. A national press ad for broadband, viewed on 28th August, stated "The UK's safest broadband £3.25 a month. Our great value phone and broadband gives you all this: Half price for 9 months then £6.50 a month for the remaining 3 months. Our ground-breaking new security service, HomeSafe is free to all customers ...".
Issue
British Telecommunications Plc (BT) and two members of the public challenged whether the claim "UK's safest broadband" made in ads (a), (b) and (c) was misleading.
CAP Code (Edition 12)
BCAP Code
Response
TalkTalk Telecom Ltd t/a TalkTalk (TalkTalk) said the claim "UK's safest broadband" was based on them being the only home broadband providers in the UK to apply security features at the network level, rather than by making them available for specific devices via a download. They believed that consumers would understand "broadband" to refer to the internet connection from the telephone network to the router, and not as including the wireless connection from the router to the computer or other internet enabled device, and they believed this was supported by previous ASA decisions. They said their claim related specifically to the safety of the broadband connection at the point of entry to the home, and that they were not claiming to provide the UK's safest online experience. TalkTalk explained that their network security service, HomeSafe, meant that all devices accessing the internet via that router would benefit from the protection the service offered, and the number of devices enjoying that security was unlimited. They said other broadband providers did offer security packages, but these had to be downloaded onto each computer individually and there was a limit on the number of computers customers were able to protect. They believed that internet browsing habits had changed and that, rather than just having one PC, families could now access the internet using a variety of methods, such as netbooks, games consoles and tablets. They also said that the software provided by other broadband providers was not able to protect some devices, such as Apple Mac computers, games consoles or smart phones, whereas HomeSafe would apply to all devices.
Clearcast said they believed the claim that TalkTalk had the "safest broadband" was justified as they understood that TalkTalk were the only home broadband provider to offer in-built network level security, which stopped viruses and inappropriate content from reaching customers' homes. They said the security package protected the broadband itself at network level, and therefore effectively at source. They believed that as this security feature was unique to TalkTalk, it could be described as "safer" than packages offered by other broadband providers, which required the customer to apply security to each device individually.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA acknowledged that TalkTalk were the only home broadband provider to offer security features that were applied at the network level, rather than to individual devices. We noted that HomeSafe offered three features: content restriction, which allowed parents to restrict access to inappropriate websites; virus alerts, which alerted users if they viewed a suspect website; and a feature which allowed parents to restrict access to social networking and gaming sites during certain times of the day. We noted that most other broadband providers supplied security packages to their customers, and that these required software to be downloaded on each individual computer it was to be applied to, and that they were only able to be used on personal computers running Windows operating systems.
We noted that TalkTalk believed customers would understand "broadband" to refer to the internet connection from the telephone network to the router, as distinct from the wireless connection from the router to the computer or other internet enabled device. However, we considered that customers would understand broadband to refer to the internet connection from the telephone network to the computer or other internet enabled device, and the wireless connection as transmitting the broadband connection from the router to the computer. We noted that TalkTalk believed that the claim "Talk Talk homes have the UK's safest broadband" was accurate as it was based on their being the only broadband provider to offer network level security. However, we considered that the claim implied that customers would enjoy the safest online experience when using TalkTalk broadband. We also considered that the images shown in the ad reinforced this impression, as a father was pictured relaxing in an armchair whilst two children used the internet, giving the impression that using TalkTalk meant the actual online experience was the safest. We considered that customers could interpret safest as referring to a number of features, such as virus protection or protection from hacking, and that Home Safe only offered a basic range of security features. We did not consider that consumers would interpret "safest" as referring to blocking of inappropriate content, and restricting access to certain sites at certain times. As Talk Talk were not able to substantiate that customers would enjoy the safest online experience with them, we concluded ad (a) was misleading.
We noted that ad (b) stated "Includes HomeSafe, the UK's first and only network level security". However, we did not consider that consumers would interpret this as being the full basis for the claim "UK's safest broadband", as the word "includes" implied that it was only part of a fuller package. We also considered consumers were unlikely to understand what "network level security" meant, as it was not a commonly used term in home broadband, and that it could be easily misinterpreted to refer to other features such as the security of the wireless connection. We considered that the claim implied that customers would enjoy the safest online experience when using TalkTalk broadband, and that the qualification used did not sufficiently counteract this impression. As Talk Talk were not able to substantiate that customers would enjoy the safest online experience with them, we concluded ad (b) was misleading.
We noted that ad (c) stated "Our ground-breaking new security service, HomeSafe is free to all customers". However, we considered that the ad did not make it clear that this was the basis for the claim "UK's safest broadband", and that the ad did not provide any details of the features provided by HomeSafe. We considered that the claim implied that customers would enjoy the safest online experience when using TalkTalk broadband, and that the qualification used did not sufficiently counteract this impression. As Talk Talk were not able to substantiate that customers would enjoy the safest online experience with them, we concluded ad (c) was misleading.
Ad (a) breached BCAP Codes rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.9 (Substantiation) and 3.38 (Other comparisons).
Ads (b) and (c) breached CAP Codes (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation) and 3.38 (Other comparisons).
Action
The ads must not appear again in their current form. We told TalkTalk to ensure that the basis for comparative claims was made clear in future.
